Book Review: Spohn, C. and Hemmens, C Courts: A Text/Reader. Los Angeles: SAGE, 2009. xx, 729 pp. $60.95. ISBN: 9781412940641

• Date: 01 June 2010
• Published date: 01 June 2010
• DOI: 10.1177/0734016809356306
• Author: Salmon A. Shomade
• Subject Matter: Articles

psychological, and medical needs faced by victims. Tragically, little of the legislation enacted in the

name of idealized victims truly represents average victims or their needs.

By clearly explicating how the crime issue has become a defining framework for governance,

Simon demonstrates how this has weakened the foundation of our democracy and led to justifica-

tions for previously legally unacceptable practices. ‘‘Governing through crime is making America

less democratic and more racially polarized; it is exhausting our social capital and repressing our

capacity for innovation’’ (p. 6). Risk and safety concerns are now routinely used as ‘‘legitimate’’

grounds for employee dismissals, racial discrimination, dismissing concerns of gender inequality

that do not fit the definition of domestic violence or sexual harassment, and the fortification of our

schools through the use of drug testing, metal detectors, and searches.

The author not only describes how policy motivated by crime fear is frequently self-defeating but

also offers alternative frameworks for governance, most notably using a cancer model, which has a

strong emphasis on prevention and empowering the multiple perspectives of cancer patients/victims.

Given the recent political focus on ‘‘hope’’ and ‘‘change,’’ it will be interesting to see whether such

an alternative model comes to fruition. As we face this challenge, Simon aptly cautions, ‘‘In a very

real sense, our ability to roll back the penal state and its mass imprisonment may depend most on our

ability to talk ourselves down from the way we prioritize the avoidance of crime risk in shaping our

family life’’ (p. 206). I would recommend Governing Through Crime for scholars and students in

law, public policy, criminology, criminal justice, and political science.

Spohn, C. and Hemmens, C

Courts: A Text/Reader. Los Angeles: SAGE, 2009. xx, 729 pp. $60.95.

ISBN: 9781412940641

Reviewed by: Salmon A. Shomade, University of New Orleans, New Orleans, LA, USA

DOI: 10.1177/0734016809356306

In Courts: A Text/Reader’s foreword, Spohn and Hemmens note that many textbooks for core

classes in criminal justice do not adequately cover the most current research. The authors also assert

that criminal justice books presented as readers generally lack sufficient ‘‘meaningful explanatory

material.’’ They contend, ‘‘This text/reader represents [their] attempt to take the best of both the

textbook and reader approaches’’ (p. xv). Spohn and Hemmens claim that this book ‘‘is intended to

serve either as a supplement to a core textbook or as a stand-alone text’’ (p. xv). As the

authors clearly maintain in the foreword, new students of criminal justice will find this text/reader

useful.

Starting with an introductory chapter, the rest of Courts is divided into seven sections. Each sec-

tion consists of a short presentation and discussion of the material assigned to that particular section,

followed by a summary of the material covered, discussion questions, and then several scholarly

articles or classic readings edited for students’ accessibility. The authors begin the introductory

chapter by posing the question of ‘‘Why Study Courts?’’ They answer the question by emphasizing

the influence of court decisions on people’s lives, the dynamism of courts and evolution of specia-

lized courts, and courts’ roles in public discussion of important ‘‘issues such as gender or racial/eth-

nic bias, the prevalence of plea bargaining, and the competence of attorneys representing indigent

defendants’’ (p. 2). In this opening chapter, the authors also provide definitions of common legal

terms. In addition, they briefly explain the structure, organization, and jurisdiction of U.S. courts,

courtroom actors, the court process, and decision making in the criminal court system. The chapter

ends with a short summary and a synopsis of the seven sections presented in the rest of the book.

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